Weight not going down anymore

mallycat1013
mallycat1013 Posts: 27 Member
edited 7:34PM in Motivation and Support
After losing 30lbs I can't get passed 135. Its been 3 weeks and it keeps going up and down. My calorie intake hasn't changed and I'm still doing to same amount of exercise. Should I lower my calorie intake? Exercise more? I'm currently eating 1200 calories. I do 20-30 minutes of cardio 5 days a week and strength 3 says a week.

Replies

  • jordanveach2016
    jordanveach2016 Posts: 8 Member
    Hey- I found the same thing after losing a similar amount of weight. I think you probably have reset your metabolism to a 'new normal' and just need to switch it up. Try doing some hiit or if you're already doing that, try low impact exercises (yoga, pilates, swimming) and you'll find your metabolism will speed back up, causing weight loss.
    Whatever you do though, I wouldn't lower your calorie intake. Livestrong.com has some great articles about how to keep your metabolism at its fastest pace.
  • DebLaBounty
    DebLaBounty Posts: 1,169 Member
    Don’t decrease your calories. You are already at the lowest MFP recommends.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    How tall are you and how are you measuring your calorie intake?
  • mallycat1013
    mallycat1013 Posts: 27 Member
    I'm 5'2". I use myfitnesspal and calorie calculators to figure out intake.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    How are you measuring those calories though? Food scale? Measuring cups? Eyeballing portions?
  • mallycat1013
    mallycat1013 Posts: 27 Member
    Oh. I use measuring cups.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    Buy a food scale. You’re most likely eating more than you think.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    mallycat1013 wrote: »
    Oh. I use measuring cups.

    Now that your weight is lower it has become more important for you to be very precise in your measurements of your calories. As suggested it's time to invest $20 in a scale.

    Good luck!
  • gamerbabe14
    gamerbabe14 Posts: 876 Member
    Food scale!!
  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    These are pretty general, but maybe something here will help:

    1. If it's been less than 3 weeks or so, don't sweat it! Normal fluctuations happen and unfortunately sometimes we stall for a week or two even when we're doing everything right. Give your body some time to catch up with the changes you're making.

    2. If you aren't already, be sure that you're logging everything. Sometimes people forget about things like veggies, drinks, cooking oils, and condiments. For some people these can add up to enough to halt your weight loss progress.

    3. Consider buying a food scale if you don't already have one. They're about $10-$20 dollars in the US and easily found at places like Amazon, Target, and Walmart. Measuring cups and spoons are great, but they do come with some degree of inaccuracy. A food scale will be more accurate, and for some people it makes a big difference.

    4. Logging accurately also means choosing accurate entries in the database. There are a lot of user-entered entries that are off. Double-check that you're using good entries and/or using the recipe builder instead of someone else's homemade entries.

    5. Recalculate your goals if you haven't lately. As you lose weight your body requires fewer calories to run. Be sure you update your goals every ten pounds or so.

    6. If you're eating back your exercise calories and you're relying on gym machine readouts or MFP's estimates, it might be best to eat back just 50-75% of those. Certain activities tend to be overestimated. If you're using an HRM or activity tracker, it might be a good idea to look into their accuracy and be sure that yours is calibrated properly.

    7. If you're taking any cheat days that go over your calorie limits, it might be best to cut them out for a few weeks and see what happens. Some people go way over their calorie needs without realizing it when they don't track.

    8. If you weigh yourself frequently, consider using a program like trendweight to even out the fluctuations. You could be losing weight but just don't see it because of the daily ups and downs.

    9. Some people just burn fewer calories than the calculators predict. If you continue to have problems after 4-6 weeks, then it might be worth a trip to the doctor or a registered dietitian who can give you more specific advice.
  • dansidorkin
    dansidorkin Posts: 6 Member
    Good post diannethegeek. Make sure you're staying at that fat-burning heart rate when you're doing your 30 minutes of cardio. If you're looking for more weight-loss, consider if you're ingesting the right amount of fats, carbohydrates and proteins as per your recipes and keep track of those calories. myFitnessPal is usually accurate with those measurements, but consider investing in a heart-rate monitor / watch (e.g. include FitBit, Garmin, etc). The macronutriets are all fundamental and crucial to healthy net weight-loss / muscle gain. The strength training is excellent, considering the more you muscle mass you create the more calories you will burn throughout the day, increasing your metabolic set point. Consider consulting a dietitian or doctor.
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